Baked apples with blueberry compote

Gabriel Gate says he was raised in a family that loved eating fruit - there were more than 20 fruit trees in the garden around his house.

No surprise then, that he prefers a fruit dessert like these delicious baked apples to a rich cake or pudding at the end of a special-occasion meal.

This dish is from Gabriel’s book, co-written with Dr Rob Moodie, ‘Recipes for a great life’ (Hardie Grant, rrp $34.95). It’s essentially a workbook for
a happy and healthy life, and features advice and tips on health and wellbeing, achieving fulfilment and emotional satisfaction, and of course, eating
well. (There’s also a chapter on the benefits of gardening, with which we are in complete agreement!) Gabriel adds that you can substitute frozen blueberries
for the sauce with the apples, when fresh berries are out of season or too expensive.

Photo - ‘Recipes for a great life’, Hardie Grant

What you need

4 medium apples, washed and cored

4 dates, pitted

juice of 1 orange

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons caster sugar

quarter of a star anise

third of vanilla pod, split lengthwise

300 g blueberries

What to do

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Make a cut 1 mm deep around the middle of each apple.

Place the apples in a small baking dish and place a pitted date in the hole of each cored apple.

Spoon the orange and lemon juice over the apples and sprinkle with sugar.

Add the star anise and vanilla pod to the dish. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, basting now and then with the juices.

After 30 minutes, scatter the blueberries into the dish and stirgently with the pan juices.

Cover the dish with aluminium foil and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the apples are soft.

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Any time from spring to autumn is suitable for taking daphne cuttings. Take a cutting of approximately 10cm length, including a node (a swollen section of stem where leaves, stems, roots originate). Dip this into rooting hormone gel or powder and place into propagation mix deep enough so that it stands by itself. A plastic cover over the pot will help retain humidity. Place in a protected position out of direct sunlight. Keep moist and expect roots in a couple of months.

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